Cardiac Rehab

Director: Deb Nagel, RN

Fort Madison Community Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program is a supervised exercise and education program that promotes the recovery of cardiac patients. The program includes information for you and your family; supervised exercise while in the hospital; and ultimately, supervised exercise as an outpatient.
Each program is based on the personal abilities and needs of the individual patient. Different types of equipment may be used such as treadmills, stationary bicycles and NuStep.

Patient Referral

A written order from your attending physician is required to participate in the FMCH Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Your physician must provide us with the following information prior to acceptance into the program:

Completed referral form

Completed tracing of recent EKGs

Copies of all relevant data, including history and physical, medication list and lab results.

The referring physician will be responsible for providing your medical care; we will keep them informed of your treatment and progress reports on a monthly basis.

The Program

There are two phases to your Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. Phase I begins while you are still in the hospital and once discharged you may be referred to FMCH Cardiac Rehab to begin Phase II.

Phase II

Provides a personalized exercise program for you, developed around the target heart rate that is right for you

Risks & Discomforts

You will be under constant observation of trained health care professionals throughout your program. But you should be aware that there are certain changes that could occur during an exercise session such as abnormal blood sugar, blood pressure, fainting, abnormal heartbeat and rare instances of heart attack or sudden death. Emergency equipment and trained personnel are available should any unusual situation arise.
Improve Your Chances of Success
It is important for you to take charge of your good health and follow these guidelines to reach your cardiac goals:

Follow the program as prescribed including intensity, duration, frequency and type of activity

Do not exercise within two hours of eating a large meal; a small snack is fine

Know your training heart rate at all times (we will show you how to monitor this)